How We Score:

Global Score

The Engadget Global Score is a unique ranking of products based on extensive independent research and analysis by our expert editorial and research teams. The Global Score is arrived at only after curating hundreds, sometimes thousands of weighted data points (such as critic and user reviews).

What good are two screens if you don't have the apps to take advantage of them?

We were intrigued as to how Sony was going to pull off the two-screen setup. The quality of the build is a mixed bag, however, and while we like the shiny black look and feel of the tablet, the flimsy covers are pedestrian, at best. We've seen several phones attempt to break the general trend for full-sized single panes and, like we saw there, the problem remains that the Android OS hasn't been built for anything different than the single screen. This means that, despite Sony's efforts to create a few dedicated apps, the lower screen generally goes unused and unloved. We're also baffled as to why there's not even a single-screen version for major apps like YouTube.

All told, despite a premium price tag that pits it against the iPad, it doesn't follow up with a commensurate user experience. Screen transitions are sluggish, and that bezel (perhaps unsurprisingly) often hinders any interactions between the screens. Priced at £500 ($780), the portability of the device may find some fans, but your money would be better spent on either a smartphone with similar screen real estate, or sacrificing that portability for a more app-friendly tablet.

Despite a premium price tag ... it doesn't follow up with a commensurate user experience. ... the portability of the device may find some fans, but your money would be better spent on either a smartphone with similar screen real estate, or sacrificing that portability for a more app-friendly tablet.

The Tablet P has some crucial drawbacks. The most important one is that, to take advantage of its full viewing area by using both screens as a single display, you must put up with a thick, black, plastic bar across the center of whatever you’re viewing.

I really like that Sony was trying to do something different with the tablet form factor, but instead of getting best of both worlds, they got worst of both. The screen isn't much bigger than a phone's but it's vastly less portable and it can't make phone calls.

If Sony could do this again with more developer support, the latest and greatest specs and OS, and cut down on the bezel this could be a real winner. For now it seems tossed together and a halfway finished experience.

If your current tablet has been scratched to ruins, you should definitely consider the Sony Tablet P. Its unique folding design makes it easy to carry and protects the dual screens, and the compact build makes it great for carrying around, getting online and social networking.

The tablet market is filled with so many iPad wannabes that there’s a strong temptation to award extra credit to any manufacturer brave enough break from the pack and take risks. But the Tablet P is so deeply flawed it leaves the user with one inescapable question. What were they thinking?

This device is poor. It's uncomfortable to use, it's really poorly designed, and is a huge waste of money. Sony had an inevitably flawed idea, and have demonstrated that dual screened devices will never work.